Reydovan Empire
The Reydovan Empire (full name: Imperial Reydovan Empire) is a fictional empire set in the Star Trek online roleplaying universe. Created by long-time Star Trek fan Joshua Underwood in February 2001, it has undergone many incarnations, and those who have read some of Underwood's fan fiction or seen him roleplay out his stories know that this is the one he focuses on the most. His trademark character in all Reydovan roleplays is a futuristic version of himself, who he claims received genetic treatment to give him incredible longevity. Some of the names - particularly that of the character serving as the Emperor, which he called "Kiran Joshmaul" - "might sound silly, but everyone usually just takes it as I write it out," Underwood explains. "I also usually piece things together as I go." Symbol of the Empire The Reydovan Empire's emblem is a stylized version of the "University of Planet" emblem from the game Alpha Centauri, created by the well-known game designer Sid Meier. Underwood uses this symbol to represent the scientist's nature of Emperor Joshmaul. How the Empire Came About: OOC A "Reydovan Sector" was mentioned in the novelization for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; it was the sector where the USS Excelsior was cataloging gaseous anomalies. Underwood thought the name might sound interesting for an empire of his own in one of his roleplaying games, and thus the Reydovan Empire was created sometime in February of 2001. How the Empire Came About: IC The Reydovan Empire was founded on October 11, 2296, with the coronation of Emperor Kiran Joshmaul I by his friend Joshua Underwood in Imperial City, Reydovan Prime. Joshmaul and Underwood: The Founders of the Empire Two long-lived humans of the Eugenics War era, Kiran Joshmaul and Joshua Underwood were once influential and long-standing Starfleet admirals; Joshmaul was a member of the Starfleet General Staff, while Underwood had taken over for James T. Kirk as the head of Starfleet Operations. In the last year of his Starfleet service, Joshmaul had been a vocal critic of the decision making of Starfleet and the Federation Council since the end of the disasterous Kznti Incursion in 2272, and the revelation of Starfleet running covert operations against the Kzin well before the Incursion began. It became so inflamed that Joshmaul was joined by at least nine star systems, including the Reydovan system, in declaring open rebellion. The Council could not allow a civil war within the Federation and so arrested Joshmaul before he could open hostilities. On March 17, 2276, Joshmaul was tried for his rebellious actions. His service was the only thing that kept him from a penal colony, and so he was sentenced to rehabilitation. His friend Joshua Underwood was forced to take him to the rehab colony. However, as Underwood's ship, the Mary D. Anderson, passed by Io, it vanished without a trace. It was revealed decades later that a temporal anomaly had swallowed the Anderson and its entire crew. The Anderson was trapped in the temporal rift for two decades, before emerging in the Reydovan system on August 10, 2296. They were found by scout ships from Reydovan Prime and taken before the independent council that now governed the planet. The word spread to the twelve major systems in the sector and the Conclave of Serenia was convened the following day. The Reydovan leaders brought to Joshmaul's attention the "blatantly illegal" treaty signed five years earlier (under coercion) that kept the Reydovan systems from confederating into their own independent state; while Joshmaul was hesitant, the leaders seemed willing to break it. They discussed how a new empire would be forged, and once all the terms were made, Joshmaul agreed to become the Reydovan Empire's first monarch. The Conclave adjourned on October 10, 2296. The following day, Joshmaul was crowned the first Emperor of the Reydovan Empire. Once in power, Emperor Joshmaul appointed Joshua Underwood as commander of the Imperial Navy and Daniel Longstreet as the head of the Imperial Marine Corps (the Imperial Army was not established until 2370), and created the Imperial Guard to serve as the police force for the Empire, and also as praetorians to the Emperor himself. He solidified his position quickly, appointing ministers and a council of the planetary leaders to serve as his advisors. Underwood remained his chief advisor. He would need all of Underwood's expertise two years later, when the Federation discovered that Joshmaul had returned - and had violated a very detailed treaty... War with the Federation In 2298, the Federation Starfleet was vastly depleted as a result of the Khitomer Accords; the Fleet had mostly disarmed over the years, particularly along the Klingon Neutral Zone. When they discovered Joshmaul was alive and leading his own Empire, they sent a fleet of starships under Admiral Daniel Neill - Joshmaul's successor in the General Staff - to quell this "rebellion". The results were devastating; Neill was captured, and the task force all but destroyed. Neill realized that in order to avoid execution, he would have to swear loyalty to Joshmaul - and that is exactly what he did. The Federation Council went into an uproar. It was divided on the "Reydovan issue" as it stood; a good deal of the Council voted to recognize the Empire as a legitimate state; the remainder, including the reigning President, Ra-ghoratrei of Delta IV (who had signed the Khitomer Accords five years earlier), were opposed to this move. It would place a "hostile power" right on the border between the Federation and the Klingons. The issue would be decided in battle, and for three years, the Reydovan Empire and the Federation went back and forth, but gained little ground. Finally, tiring of the pointless bloodshed, Ra-ghoratrei contacted Grand Admiral Underwood, the supreme commander of the Emperor's forces, to discuss a treaty. A cease-fire was called on April 7, 2301. Thus, the Treaty of Korolev in its final form was officially signed on August 11, 2301 (the terms had been decided months earlier, during the cease-fire), defining the border between the Reydovan Empire and the Federation, as well as securing Joshmaul's legitimacy as Emperor. The Calm Before the Storm Joshmaul ruled peacefully as Emperor for twenty years after the end of the war, but he soon realized that the details of running the government might be too much for one man alone. In 2321, he appointed Grand Admiral Underwood as the first Imperial Chancellor, to handle all the administrative details of the government. Through that time period, Joshmaul managed to keep the peace, but by 2348, things were starting to turn awry with the Sha'kurian Duchies, and soon it degenerated into open war. In mid-2349, an assault was needed, and a commander was needed to lead it. The Emperor asked for a man capable of leading smaller forces head on into the larger Sha'kurian force. One hand went up - 48-year-old Major General Jeremiah Neill, who had been promoted twice over the course of the war, and was known as a "reckless son-of-a-bitch", as Daniel Longstreet put it. (Ironically enough, Neill's nephew, Jonathan Ross, was referred to quite similarly by the same man, twenty-five years later.) With Neill leading a small force into that battle, they managed to destroy their opponents with few losses, due to the hit-and-run tactics that Neill favored. The war ended in 2350 in a decisive Imperial victory. Re-Establishing Relations The Reydovan Empire was involved in the Dominion War as an ally of the Federation, but only for the course of the war. Once it ended, the Empire returned to its pre-war relations. Emperor Joshmaul, however, wished to change that. Through former Reydovan officer - and noted Starfleet Marine general - Jonathan Ross, Joshmaul learned of a great movement in the Federation to re-establish contact with their neighbors to the galactic south. It was during the war with the Romulan Star Empire and the Hydran Kingdom in 2384 that caused the Empire and the Federation to see eye to eye. Marshal Jeremiah Neill, the reigning Chancellor, saw an opportunity after the atrocities on the Romulan-held worlds of Betazed and Angosia, and his city of Easthaven destroyed by a Romulan suicide attack. The Reydovan people were fighting the same war the Federation was; what more reason was there for an alliance? As of 2384, the Reydovan Empire remains in good standing with its neighbors; it is currently at war with the Romulan Star Empire. --Joshmaul 17:04, 26 Aug 2005 (UTC) Category: RPG Category: Reydovan_Empire